Kosovare Asllani (born 29 July 1989) is a Swedish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a striker or an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for Italian first division

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...

club

AC Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seaso ...

and the Sweden national team. Nicknamed "Kosse", Asllani possesses great speed and technique in her game. Asllani began her club career with Vimmerby IF and has played in the Damallsvenskan for

Linköpings FC Linköpings Fotboll Club is an association football club from Linköping, Sweden. The club was established in 2003 when Kenty DFF women's football club decided to merge with the premier division ice hockey club Linköpings HC under the new name L ...

and hometown club

Kristianstads DFF Kristianstads DFF is a women's association football club from Kristianstad, Sweden. The club is affiliated to the Skånes Fotbollförbund. History The original club Wä IF played in from 1989 to 1994 in the Damallsvenskan. The club was reformed ...

. In the 2010 season she played in the United States, with

Chicago Red Stars The Chicago Red Stars are a professional women's soccer club based in Bridgeview, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. A founding member of the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league, they have played in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) sin ...

Women's Professional Soccer Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) was the top-level professional women's soccer league in the United States. It began play on March 29, 2009. The league was composed of seven teams for its first two seasons and fielded six teams for the 2011 sea ...

(WPS). She returned to Sweden to play for Kristianstad, before moving to Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City and then back to Linköping. She currently plays for AC Milan.

Club career

Childhood and early career

Asllani is of Kosovar-Albanian descent, born in

Kristianstad Kristianstad (, ; older spelling from Danish ''Christianstad'') is a city and the seat of Kristianstad Municipality, Scania County, Sweden with 40,145 inhabitants in 2016. During the last 15 years, it has gone from a garrison town to a devel ...

to Kosovar parents who had migrated to Sweden. Asllani grew up playing both football and

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

, but chose to focus her talents on football. At the age of 15, Asllani started her career at second division team Vimmerby IF. During her time at Vimmerby, she scored 49 goals in 48 matches, establishing herself as a football prodigy. Former coach Cecilia Wilhelmsson praised Asllani's football technique and fitness. After receiving offers from many clubs, Asllani accepted a move to Damallsvenskan team Linköpings FC in 2007, where she made quick progress.

Linköpings FC

During Asllani's first season, she generally came off the substitutes' bench early in the games to help her settle into the Damallsvenskan. During the following season, Asllani established herself as a regular starter and was an increasingly valuable member of the squad. In 2009, she helped Linköping win both the

Svenska Cupen Svenska Cupen (, ''The Swedish Cup'') is a knockout cup competition in Swedish football and the main Swedish football cup. Svenska Cupen usually refers to the men's tournament, although a women's tournament is also held. Each year 96 teams compe ...

and the club's first ever Damallsvenskan title. On 4 December 2009 American

(WPS) club

confirmed that they had signed Asllani from Linköpings FC.

Chicago Red Stars

Asllani spent a single season in the WPS. She was established as a fan's favourite and in the 7th week of the season, Asllani received the WPS Player of the Week award after

' defeat of

FC Gold Pride FC Gold Pride was an American professional soccer club based in the San Francisco Bay Area, which participated in Women's Professional Soccer. The club replaced the San Jose CyberRays of the defunct Women's United Soccer Association as the top-le ...

. After her season with the Red Stars, Asllani returned to Sweden and Linköpings FC.

Return to Linköping

Asllani's presence boosted Linköping, especially in the

UEFA Women's Champions League The UEFA Women's Champions League, previously called the UEFA Women's Cup (2001–2009), is a European women's association football competition. It involves the top club teams from countries affiliated with the European governing body UEFA. The ...

. She scored goals against Sparta Praha and Arsenal. However, her season was disrupted by a thigh injury and she departed Linköping at the end of the campaign.

Kristianstad DFF

In December 2011, she moved back to her hometown

to play with

who had finished seventh in the previous year's Damallsvenskan.

Paris Saint-Germain

20121209 PSG-Juvisy - Kosovare Asllani 02

When Asllani had a month left on her contract with Kristianstads she was subject to a transfer bid from

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...

. Although the teams were in dispute over the size of the transfer fee, Asllani flew to Paris and signed a two-year contract in September 2012, after completing a medical. At PSG Asllani was presented to the media by sporting director Leonardo and player

Zlatan Ibrahimović Zlatan Ibrahimović (, ; born 3 October 1981) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a striker for club AC Milan and the Sweden national team. Ibrahimović is renowned for his acrobatic strikes and volleys, powerful long-range sho ...

, who declared: "If you want to win you need a Swedish striker." Asllani scored 17 goals in her 19 appearances in the

2012–13 Division 1 Féminine The 2012–13 Division 1 Féminine season was the 39th since its establishment. Lyon were the defending champions. The season began on 9 September 2012 and ended on 26 May 2013. The winter break was in effect from 17 December 2012 to 6 January 20 ...

, as PSG finished second in the table behind

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

. On 4 January 2016, Asllani announced on her Instagram account that she had ended her contract with Paris Saint-Germain, where she had played for three-and-a-half years.

Manchester City

On 22 January 2016, English FA WSL club Manchester City revealed that they had signed Asllani to a two-year contract.

Second return to Linköpings FC

On 10 August 2017, it was announced a two and a half-year contract had been agreed for Asllani to return to

. She departed the club by mutual consent on 15 July 2019.

CD Tacón/Real Madrid

After her departure from Linköpings FC, Asllani signs with

CD Tacón Real Madrid Femenino is a Spanish Women's association football, women's football club in Madrid. Founded as the independent Club Deportivo TACÓN in 2014, the club later underwent a merger and acquisition process with Real Madrid CF, Real Madrid ...

/Real Madrid on 18 July 2019. Upon Real Madrid's purchase of their license, CD Tacón will operate as Real Madrid's women's team starting from 2020, making Asllani the first ''Galáctica''. Asllani scored 5 goals in 17 league appearances for Tacón in the prematurely ended 2019–20 Primera Iberdrola season. After the rebrand of the team to Real Madrid CFF, she started the season explosively, scoring 8 goals in the first 8 league appearances despite playing in an unfamiliar out-and-out-striker role.

AC Milan

On 30 June 2022, Asllani joined

International career

In September 2008 Asllani made her debut for the Sweden national team against

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

, and in 2009 she was called up to represent Sweden in

UEFA Women's Euro 2009 The 2009 UEFA Women's Championship, or just Women's Euro 2009, was played in Finland between 23 August and 10 September 2009. The host was appointed on 11 July 2006, in a UEFA Executive Committee meeting in Berlin and the Finnish proposal won over ...

. Asllani was an important member of the national team during the qualification rounds of the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup but coach Thomas Dennerby controversially did not select her in the squad sent to Germany for the finals. Football pundits, including

Pia Sundhage Pia Mariane Sundhage (, born 13 February 1960) is a Swedish football manager and former professional player. She is the head coach of the Brazil women's national team. As a player, Sundhage played most of her career as a forward and retired a ...

, the Swedish coach of the United States national team, expressed surprise at Asllani's omission. 09 Kosovare Asllani 111023 Sverige-Schweiz 3-0 8283

09 Kosovare Asllani 111023 Sverige-Schweiz 3-0 8283

Dennerby recalled Asllani to the national squad for the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. Asllani played for Sweden at the 2016 Summer Olympics, where the team won a silver medal. She only scored one goal during a

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

against the United States in the quarterfinals, in which Sweden won the shootout 4–3 after being tied 1–1 during extra time. As of 2017, Asllani had made more than 90 appearances for the Sweden national team. She scored in the 5–1 win over

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

at the 2019 Women's World Cup.

Personal life

Asllani has a

tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, and/or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing ...

of a black

double-headed eagle In heraldry and vexillology, the double-headed eagle (or double-eagle) is a charge associated with the concept of Empire. Most modern uses of the symbol are directly or indirectly associated with its use by the late Byzantine Empire, origina ...

, symbolising

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

, on her ankle. She also has the words "Stay Strong" tattooed on the inside of her right biceps.

Career statistics

:''Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Asllani goal.''

Honours

Linköpings FC * Damallsvenskan: 2009,

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

Svenska Supercupen Svenska Supercupen, ''Swedish Super Cup'', was a one-off fixture in Swedish football played between the Allsvenskan champions and the winners of Svenska Cupen. The fixture was played in November, after the Allsvenskan season. In the event of a ...

: 2009 *

: 2008, 2009 Manchester City * FA WSL:

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

FA WSL Continental Cup The FA Women's League Cup is a league cup competition in England, English women's association football. The competition was originally open to the eight teams in the FA WSL, but since the WSL's restructuring to two divisions, it has featured 23 t ...

: 2016 Sweden * Summer Olympics runner-up:

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

* FIFA Women's World Cup third place:

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

. Individual * Swedish women's footballer of the year: 2017 * Swedish women's midfielder of the year: 2017

References

;Match reports

External links

* *
Profile
at

SvFF The Swedish Football Association ( sv, Svenska Fotbollförbundet, SvFF) is the governing and body of football in Sweden. It organises the football leagues – Allsvenskan for men and Damallsvenskan for women – and the men's and women's nat ...

*
Player French football stats
at statsfootofeminin.fr
Profile
at

Linköping FC profile
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Asllani, Kosovare 1989 births Living people Swedish women's footballers Swedish expatriate footballers Swedish people of Kosovan descent Swedish people of Albanian descent Sweden women's international footballers Expatriate women's soccer players in the United States Footballers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers of Sweden Damallsvenskan players Linköpings FC players Kristianstads DFF players Expatriate women's footballers in France Swedish expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate women's footballers in England Swedish expatriate sportspeople in England Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate women's footballers in Spain Expatriate women's footballers in Italy Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Italy Paris Saint-Germain Féminine players People from Kristianstad Municipality 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup players Women's association football forwards Women's Super League players Manchester City W.F.C. players Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Sweden Olympic medalists in football Vimmerby IF players FIFA Century Club Division 1 Féminine players 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup players Real Madrid Femenino players A.C. Milan Women players Serie A (women's football) players Footballers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Women's Professional Soccer players Sportspeople from Skåne County UEFA Women's Euro 2022 players UEFA Women's Euro 2017 players